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tv   Senate Debate  CSPAN  November 3, 2012 5:30pm-6:30pm EDT

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e set up more for people to go who do not have heat. in new not plan to stay there overnight. it does come in from time to time -- they do not plan to stay there overnight. typically they just go there from time to time. >> generally a larger capacity. the short-term situations for folks. and this will often be careful in their own homes -- comfortable in their own homes but drop the day, they want to be in a place where they have access to power and these types of things. the weather is so extraordinary people are not able to utilize their own homes for their overnight needs. but the same sheltering.
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we provide feeding, snacks, we take care of the kids and special functional needs. >> can you give an estimate of how much is being disbursed for individual assistance for public assistance and if you have an initial estimate about how much might be dispersed out of those sandy relatedopr stuff. >> public assistance, we have not done any of the permanent work. almost everything is still emergency work. that number will be based upon the the mission assignments and stuff. i will have public affairs is that back. for individual assistance, the total number of registrations
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in new jersey, new york, connecticut was 122,000 and total disbursed was 107 million dollars so far. >> could you address how the gas sorted is being helped -- shorter's is being held. our generators being offered? what else is being done for people who need gas for the generators? of work beinglot done in the utility's and the industry to get pipeline terminals back up and getting the receiving. that has already been occurring. the other part of the retail side and distribution of gas. we're working very closely with
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governor christie's team. sometimes getting additional trucks second off load fuel -- that can off load fuel. all of these options are under way and being worked with the states. correct thinking. i think that wraps up our call for today. for more information on fema, visit fema.org. we encourage you to, for people seeking assistance, to go to disaster assistance.gove. >> we just heard from fema administrator craig fugate giving the latest on recovery efforts in the wake of hurricane sandy. president obama did visit fema earlier today before taking to
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the campaign trail. turning back to the tough election races and senate and house districts across the country, the senate race in massachusetts teachers senator scott brown, a republican, is in challenger elizabeth warren, a democrat. in the 2010, scott brown won a set -- one a special election for the seat, long held by ted kennedy. this debate comes to us courtesy of wshm tv and was held in springfield on october 10. a final debate was scheduled for october 30 but was canceled because of hurricane sandy. >> good evening. welcome to symphony hall for a debate between scott brown and elizabeth warren. i am honored to be the moderator tonight.
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we have rules this evening. our audience of more than 2600 guests have agreed to be silent. no interruptions or applause. each candidate has a minute and 30 seconds to answer each question, and 30 seconds for rebuttal. later, each candidate gets one minute for a closing statement. a coin toss has determined the speaker order. we have received more than 200. every question is based on an idea from the public. elizabeth warren won the first coin toss. just last week, we saw the national unemployment numbers fall below 8%. millions of americans are still looking for jobs. things are especially difficult for minority cities. what will it take and what will you do if elected to support job growth?
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>> thank you very much. thank you for everyone for being so hospitable. we have nearly 200,000 people unemployed in massachusetts. there are higher unemployment rates here in springfield. it is a serious problem. i look at this as a short-term and long-term problem. short-term, they should put people back to work. i was surprised when senator brown of voted against a three in a row that would have supported 22,000 jobs here in the commonwealth of massachusetts, would have prevented layouts, and police officers, it would have put construction workers back to work. why? it would have been an increase in taxes, not for most people, but for those who make a million dollars or more.
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making the investments in education, making the investments in research, and we make those investments together and build a future. that is what it will take over the long run to build a stronger future here in western massachusetts, all across the commonwealth, and all across the country. >> thank you. before i start, i want to thank the mayor for your endorsement and support. thank you both for coming. this is actually about jobs and economy.
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the whole race is about that. we held one of our first jobs fares here because we want to connect people with jobs. when you put a title on a bill in washington that says jobs bill, you have to read the bill. those bills in particular were rejected in a bipartisan manner, and that means democrats and republicans recognize that by taking for under $50 billion in taxes out of the private sector and giving it to washington to increase government spending, that is not the answer. the best answer is to come and put the money in the communities. i went down there today and he did not say, thank you for coming. please take this money and bring it back to washington. he said, go back to washington and tell them they need a reality check. we are tired of the overspending and the taxing and taking more money out of the economy. there are real challenges here. i used to live here. i worked and i lived over there. i understand.
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many businesses are hurting right now. regulatory tax uncertainty is the biggest challenge they have. >> tomorrow will be the one- year anniversary of senator brown's first vote against 22,000 jobs here in massachusetts. i hope everybody who knows someone who is unemployed, every business who would like to see those paychecks to spend in their shops, will remember that. that is how we jump-start the economy. we get work that needs to be done, and we put people back to work. the bill would have cost millionaires, those making $1 million or more, pay more.
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he stood with the millionaires and not those out of work. >> you have 35 seconds. >> it is the anniversary of the protecting people's pocketbooks and wallets. i'm making sure $450 billion did not go out of the private sector in into washington so they could spend it. you need to create the regulatory tax certainty. when i am fighting for military jobs and trying to create the ability for them to stay in business, i am very proud my third vote was a bipartisan jobs bill. we need to do it better. >> next question goes to mr. brown. depending on what happens on election day, it is entirely possible the numbers will be set up in such a way in january that both houses are set up by the republican party. it seems to me in the repeal of obamacare. it is further escalating costs and hospitals and physicians. it is a problem of fraud, but hard to catch and investigate. what do we do about the continuing health-care cost problem.
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would you support a replacement of fee-for-service to help try to reduce the rising costs? >> health care is something that affects every person in every business in massachusetts. i was proud to work on our health care bill that actually insures 98% of our people. we did it without raising taxes and we did it without the one- size-fits-all. the federal bill, which my opponent supports and i do not,
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raises taxes. the folks that have the so- called cadillac tax plans, the teachers, they will be taxed tens of thousands of dollars. i believe everybody should have health care. that is why i supported what we did here in massachusetts. i think other states should be incentivized. to think the federal government will tell massachusetts where we have the best doctors in the world, that is unacceptable. the codes changed regularly. there really is no certainty and stability. it is something we need to continue to work on. >> 90 seconds. >> you are right about the control of the senate. scott brown has made it clear his first job will be to repeal the affordable care act. i do not think that is good for us.
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he raises the same old argument that there will be more than $700 billion taken out of medicare. that is the same playbook mitt romney used a week ago tonight. it was wrong then and it is wrong tonight. [applause] it is not money being taken out of medicare. aarp has made this clear. the plan is to take waste fraud out and strengthen medicare. keep in mind what senator brown is in favor of, is getting rid of a bill that helps seniors' right now pay for prescription drugs, closes the so called on a whole.
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11,000 seniors here in massachusetts are getting help, paying for their prescription medications. there is a lot that the affordable care act does, and it brings down health care costs. also, investments at a lot of research. i am proud to be from massachusetts where most of the research is being done. this will be a big driver for the economy here in massachusetts and ultimately for saving health-care around the country. >> you have 30 seconds. >> thank you. the bottom line is any of the seniors that are listening in the crowd, you need to pay attention. it is two quarters of a trillion dollars that my opponent is supporting and i do not. to think you can cut that amount money and not have it affect your care and coverage is wrong. to think the federal government will dumb down what we did here in massachusetts, that is not something i can support. we have an opportunity in massachusetts.
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this is a jobs-crushing bill. you have 18 new taxes coming in. i cannot support it. >> 7 extra seconds. >> senator brown will double down on a number that simply is not true. aarp has made it clear that the changes the affordable care act as for medicare strengthens medicare and does not cut benefits by even one penny. senator brown wants to talk about taxes. keep in mind there is only $1 trillion in tax cuts in the affordable care act. it comes to people who are purchasing health insurance and the small businesses that are providing health insurance. it is good for us. >> college debt for the students and families. we know it tops $1 trillion. higher education is the largest industry in massachusetts. the number means a lot to us. what would you do and what more can and should washington do if anything to address the soaring cost of college debt students
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face. >> i went to public schools and a commuter college. i ended up as a professor. i got to do that because of the opportunities afforded me by a good education that america invested in. now we live in a world where there is far too little investment, and is typically in higher education. there are four great community colleges in this area. we need to be making the investments in the community colleges. for a couple of reasons. partly because it is a good, affordable way for kids to get an education. partly because it helps us build a future. persistent technology here in western massachusetts, this is a real opportunity for the future. only if there is a well-educated work force.
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that starts and home school, on into community colleges, and on into universities. i want to say this is about priorities. that is how i see it. there will not be a single, magic bullet. what the priorities. students will have to pick up more of the costs of student loans. twice, senator brown voted to let students rates double. why? it would have forced to pay for it closing a loophole used by millionaires. it is called the newt gingrich loophole. what are your priorities? protecting loopholes for millionaires or college education? >> great question. the cost of education is out of sight. we need to have an educated student population. my youngest daughter graduated. i understand.
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one of the largest driving forces behind the high cost of education is administrative costs. professor war makes about $350 thousand to teach a course. she got a zero interest loan and gets perks. it is interesting. kids are forced to go out and borrow money at a high interest rate. then harvard goes and gets a zero interest loan to the professors. that is one of the driving forces behind the high costs of education. that, energy, health care. if you are paying for health care for students, it has gone up as a result of obamacare to about $1,500. we have done a lot with providing benefits for our students. we need to continue to do that. there she goes again with regard to talking about student interest rates. i voted against it because i did
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not want to see small business owners pay $60 billion to pay for low interest rates. we stopped it and we worked and rolled up our sleeves and did it without taxing people and using any additional federal funds. >> i went to a commuter college. i paid $50 a semester for tuition. i am proud to have made it to where i have made it in my profession. let's be clear. i paid $50 a semester because america was investing in public colleges and universities at the time. that is what we need to do. [applause] the question about voting is, what side are you on? i want to go with our kids. >> we actually passed that bill to keep student interest rates low. we did it by working together in a truly bipartisan way to get it done.
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she says millionaires and billionaires. no, it is the ordinary businesses that would have had to pay that $6 billion to keep student interest rates low. we did it together. we found the money. it is my leadership working with both sides to get that done. >> i will remind the audience, it only takes time away from your candidates when you applaud. please do not. let's stay with education. communities are stretching and struggling to pay for local schools. many costs are based on a federal mandates and requirements. what should the role of the federal government be in local education? >> i work very hard to provide
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the tools and resources to our community to get funding for new schools and i am proud of that. very supportive of the new issues that are been initiated. we are doing a lot and i never voted for a mandate. it is one of the things that is killing communities like springfield and everybody in western massachusetts and throughout our great state. it is the high cost of education that is driving the train. just go back because i have time, student interest rates, the bottom line is that you cannot rewrite my record. we made sure we did without raising taxes. constant criticisms on the fact that i do not want to raise taxes on many americans. we did it without raising taxes by tweaking federal programs. i worked very hard as a state senator and continue to work with the community college. we found at a community college that you have opportunities where businesses in the area are
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working directly with the university to develop a work force you can actually have for that particular business. that is something i have supported and will continue to support. >> thank you. 90 seconds. >> you were asking about what we would do for the younger kids and education. it is a wonderful question. i am proud to be from massachusetts. we have made investments in education and our kids have done well. they have not done as well if we think they can if we do better. the way i see this is that massachusetts, the local cities and towns, should come up with their own ideas, but they need a good federal partner in washington. i will give you one example of
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what a good federal partner can do. a good federal partner can put money into stem and mathematics. to help make sure we have more teachers and schools, make sure they have the opportunities to get the grounding they need to go on to community college, get better training, and be part of the well-educated work force. moving down to younger kids, i want to make clear that every dollar we invest is something that pays off many times over that child's lifetime. it is an investment we should be making. we need to invest in our children. that is our moral responsibility and it is good economics. >> we agree. it is something i feel is very important.
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growing up from here, i have been working very hard as a state representative and state senator to try to find ways we can do it all and provide good value for our dollar, accountability for our students and teachers, having parental involvement, and trying to find ways to stretch the dollars we paid to state and federal government. there is a lot more to do. we will hopefully continue the work. >> that is time. you have 30 seconds. >> i am glad senator brown agrees. i want to make clear that if the republicans take over control of the united states senate, they have made it clear that in order to pay for the tax cuts for the richest americans, they will make cuts elsewhere. what is the only proposal on the table? more than half a trillion dollars in cuts in education, basic infrastructure, and research. to have a good, federal partner
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in washington, we have to make funding education a priority. >> this question goes to elizabeth warren. can you tell us where you would look first and last? can you identify two federal programs that can be cut, and two he would work hard to protect? >> you are exactly right. we will have to take a balanced approach. i would be clear in terms of cutting the agricultural subsidy programs. it is time to cut in our military budget. we are winding out of one war. we can realign our priorities. on the other hand, i want to make clear i will not go to washington to cut medicare or social security benefits. [applause] when we talk about a balanced approach, we need to be talking about spending cuts and we need to be talking about increasing revenues. it takes both to close the deficit.
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we both submitted our economic proposals to the boston globe. they were sent out four independent economic analysis. what the independent economists found is that i was 67% more effective at cutting the deficit then senator brown. why? because i am willing to make cuts. i am willing to make substantial cuts. i support substantial cuts. i also believe we have to raise revenues. that is what it will take to get serious about our deficit. i truly believe on this one, this is about our children and grandchildren. we cannot leave it to our grandchildren to pay off our debts. >> great question. we are in the $16 trillion national debt.
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we are in another trillion dollar deficit. you cannot keep borrowing to pay our bills. when we are talking about cutting military spending, we have party cut in half a trillion dollars. that affects many people in this room and people watching. i have been battling as a member of the arms services committee to try to find the resources to protect our men and women who are serving. we have sequestration coming up. we are trying to work in a bipartisan effort to step back from that. i cut $2 trillion as a result of obamacare. it is not good for massachusetts. crushes businesses. i would sell unused property. we do not need it. i would do a top to bottom review of every program. if there is anybody listening who thinks my opponent is a tax cutter, let me get rid of that myth. i never voted for a tax
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increase. i would not be raising taxes on any american. we need to have a balanced budget amendment. it is something we need. we do it in the state, homes, businesses. that is a big difference. the first thing, every single time, is to raise taxes. the national federation of independent businesses said many people in this room would be affected by the cuts in her plan. i would not be putting the businesses of individuals and their lives in jeopardy. >> senator brown says he will cut health care. keep in mind, that is scored as it is going to increase our debt and not decrease it. he cites a study, the same thing out of governor romney's strategy. he was wrong then and he is wrong now. it does not analyze anything i did.
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it does not use the president's. keep in mind to this group is. can i finish? >> 10 more seconds. >> this group endorses senator brown and other republicans and refers to ted kennedy as public enemy number one. that is who they are. >> that is 15. but 45 seconds. >> if anybody thinks the national health care bill is not going to be back for massachusetts, they do not understand the bills. they have not read the bills. it dramatically increases 18 new taxes. medical device companies in massachusetts will be first. our seniors would medicare will be hammered in the coverages and care they get in hospitals. when you look at the chamber of commerce, is the premier independent group. she says the numbers were made up here they are not made up. it was said her involvement in this race is catastrophically anti-business.
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we cannot continue to focus on raising taxes. >> thank you both very much. in both the presidential and did your campaigns, i have heard the words "middle class" used a lot. what do you mean? income levels, values? >> i do not think it is values. it is in comes. -- incomes. i have worked hard to get property valuations and get could trash, please, and fire contracts. trying to maximize the dollars we all pay. i think about hard-working men and women who have one, two, or a third job. sometimes kids contribute. the number of areas in which
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state you are at. the bottom line is is all about whose side you're on. we know professor warren has said she is fighting for you and the middle class. she is fighting in fact for the large corporations, travels insurance, giving almost a quarter of a million dollars, fighting to deny people benefits for asbestos settlements. fighting to protect large corporations over the union workers who are going to get their health care. also, dodd chemical, working to make sure there is limited liability for women with faulty breast implants. it is about whose side you're on. it is about fighting for the middle class. i want to continue as i have before. one thing we cannot be doing right now in the middle of this recession is by taking more money out of people's are working pocketbooks and wallets and giving it to the federal government. they are like pigs in a trough. they will take and take and take. [applause]
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>> i am losing control. >> this has been my life's work. let's face it. america's middle class has been getting hammered. washington does not work for them. they work for those who can hire and an army of lobbyists and lawyers. that is why i am in this race. what is america's middle-class tax the people who work hard and play by the rules, and invest in the future. they believe if they do those things, their kids are going to have a better chance than they did and their grandkids are going to have a better chance than that. that is what i see as the two different missions in this race overall. the race in massachusetts and the race nationally. the republicans have a vision. cut taxes for those at the top and let the chips fall where they may for everybody else. i think we can do better for that. we can do better than that for
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america's middle-class and working families, and america's poor families who want those opportunities. i believe everybody pays a fair scared. -- fair share. that means the millionaires. that means the billionaires. that means the big oil companies. [applause] then we make those investments in the future. we invest in education, infrastructure, we invest in ourselves and our kids. that is why those of the issues i want to talk about in this race. senator brown does not want to talk about his voting record. he just wants to launch attacks. thank you. >> it is about whose side you were on. when you are talking about getting hammered, i suggest you put down the hammer. it is your regulations and your policies that will be hurting. audience: boo! >> we will give you a couple extra seconds.
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>> your policies will be hurting middle-class families and every class of family in the united states. you have massachusetts lobbyists working for you. in terms of an army of lawyers, you are one of them. you went out and got paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight against -- >> that is time. 40 seconds. >> i am glad you raised the question of regulations. he is right. i went to washington to fight to make sure people cannot get cheated on mortgages, credit cards, and state loans. -- student loans. that is what i fought for. that agency, just out there a year on its own, and it has already returned nearly half a billion dollars to consumers who have gotten cheated. i think that is the way the system ought to work. i will continue to fight for that. >> i will give you each 15 seconds. >> i commend you for your work
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on that. i voted for it. it never would have passed it by was not the deciding vote. audience: boo! [applause] >> i actually made it better. we put in a provision to protect our men and women's measures. -- service members. i commend you for that. i'm glad i was able to help put it into effect. >> it came out in the boston globe he was out working in secret to weaken the regulations so the biggest financial institutions on wall street would not have to deal with such difficult regulations. i think this is one more case of senator brown making it clear where he stands. he has taken more than $2 million in contributions, and he really delivers for wall street.
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>> i owe you five seconds, senator. >> i would like to start right now. >> i am finding it. >> i will fight for massachusetts jobs. the company she is referring to that i was fighting for, i was proud to do it. >> perfect. back on time. i will give everybody who is watching the time about two seconds to take a breather. let's go. where would you stand if the idea of eliminating the mortgage increased tax deduction were put forward as part of a tax reform or deficit reduction? >> i would not support ending the mortgage deduction for middle-class families. they have been hammered enough and they just cannot take it. my answer is for working people, no. >> reset. >> i am sorry. >> you have a minute.
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>> you are asking the right question. where are we going to raise revenues? what senator brown has done is take the pledge, making sure he has said he will not raise taxes by $1, on millionaires, billionaires, big oil. that exactly is what he has voted for. asking billionaires to pay their fair share, he voted no. the industry where the big five made $137 billion in profits last year, senator brown said keep those subsidies flowing to the oil companies. for me, what this is all about is we have to find the right balance in the system. we have to go to a sensible
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place. when the question comes of the aspiring tax credits, so taxes could go up for 98% of the families here in massachusetts, and 97% of small businesses, senator brown said he voted against that, would let taxes go up, unless there were bigger breaks for the top 2%. this is about whose side you stand on. >> 90 seconds. >> i am glad i am agreed with. we should not raise taxes on anybody in the middle of a recession. i will not be raising taxes on any one in massachusetts or anyone in the united states. we are in a fiscal and financial emergency right now. we do not need to do every single time, say take, take, take more and more. we have our own buffett rule in massachusetts. we have an opportunity for people who want to pay more. they can. professor warren chose not to check that box and make that
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contribution. it is ok to take everybody else's money, but before we do that, we need to practice what we preach. when you talk about oil and our energy producers, i am not sure anybody has been to the pump. it is about $4 a gallon. if you think by eliminating deductions or raising taxes on our energy producers in the middle of the winter, they will pass those tax increases off to you. you will be paying more as you fill up your car, your oil tanks, and we need to have a comprehensive reform. we need to do a review of our tax code. we cannot be pitting people against each other. it needs to be done in a bipartisan manner. i have done it. i will continue to do it. i am proud.
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>> 30 seconds. >> i think i heard senator brown say that instead of working for the people of massachusetts, he has taken a pledge to work for grover norquist to make sure no tax still occurs that costs millionaires or billionaires even $1 more. what he has said he will do is let more than $2 trillion of tax cuts expire for 90% of families in massachusetts. it is not enough of a big break on billionaires. >> the 2% of the people out there creating jobs. many of the people are hired by those job creators. it makes a great sound bite. but those aspiring tax cuts will only fund the government for 10 or 15 days. we need a comprehensive approach on this.
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>> very good. how do you feel you differ from your opponent in the area of women's rights and women's issues? specifically, paycheck fairness act, states that have moved and tried to require special preliminaries procedures for women who need to be seeking medical procedures. >> good question. i live in a house full of women. two of them are right there. they have been fighting since i have been fighting since i was 6 years old to protect women's rights. we are both pro-choice. i believe in women getting the same pay and benefits. as you have heard, when you refer to paycheck fairness, right idea but the wrong bill.
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when it comes to women's rights, i am pro-choice. i am a co-sponsor of the violence against women act because i have lived through that. it is important to protect women, especially when they are being abused. make sure they can get the care and coverage is they need. when it comes to protecting women's rights, i am happy to continue to fight, as i have done in the past. you can cherry pick votes and try to distort things. the bottom line is i am very happy with what i have done. >> that is time.
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90 seconds. >> i have no doubt that senator brown is a good husband and a good father to his daughters. this is an issue that affects all of our daughters and their granddaughters. what matters here is how senator brown votes. he has gone to washington and he has had good votes. he has had exactly one chance to vote for equal pay for equal work, and he voted no. he had exactly one chance to vote for insurance coverage for birth control and other preventive services for women. he voted no. he had one chance to vote for a pro-choice woman from massachusetts to the united states supreme court, and he voted no. those are bad votes for women. the women of massachusetts need a senator they can count on, not some of the time, but all of the time. [applause]
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i want to go to washington to be there for all of our daughters and granddaughters. this one really matters. there is a lot at stake. >> you have another 20 seconds. >> i think that says it all. i am a mother of a daughter and a grandmother of granddaughters. this is about their future. i want to be blunt. we should not be fighting about equal pay for equal work and access for birth control in 2012. [applause] these issues were resolved years ago, until the republicans brought them back. >> that is time. 30 seconds. >> we are both pro-choice. we are both working very hard. i think we would agree on that fact. i will not be pitting catholics against their church and their faith. i will fight to make sure any legislation that comes up is not going to be basically prohibiting people to practice
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their faith. we did it in massachusetts. we already have the ability to do both. we actually provide care and coverages women deserve, and we provide the ability for people in churches and hospitals to practice their faith. >> time. i apologize for any confusion. you will have 40 seconds. >> i just want to be clear. this is how the senator votes. he comes up with a lot of excuses. he had one chance to vote for equal pay for equal work any voted against it. he had one chance to vote for insurance coverage on birth control and he voted against it. he had one chance to vote for a pro-choice woman to the united states supreme court, and he voted against her. these votes matter.
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roe vs. wade may hang in the balance. access to birth control and equal pay for equal work, women are entitled to these. this is not right. >> i did not have a chance to respond. i hope she proves me wrong. she did not have a traditional court experience as a prerequisite. "the boston globe" and united chamber of commerce said the right idea, the wrong bill. you need to read the bill. to give people an early christmas to allow them to hurt small businesses, i will not do it. >> it is like it was with the millionaires, billionaires, and oil companies. he has a lot of excuses for standing on the other side. when it came down to it in critical votes, he was not there for women. massachusetts women deserve a senator they can count on all the time. [applause] >> that this time. thank you.
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mitt romney now wants a larger role for the united states in syria. he would like to see as helping and working with others to supply rebels with arms. what should we do about syria and what american involvement and intervention would you support to prevent iran from developing a nuclear weapon. >> what he is a link to his own -- what assad is doing to his own people is terrible. it has to stop. he has to go. in iran, what is critical is they are not permitted to develop nuclear weapons. they are a danger to the region, our ally israel, and they are a danger to the entire world. with a nuclear iran, we not only have the risks of more terrorists getting access to nuclear weapons, more people in the region one nuclear weapons, it is destabilizing to the world. it means the whole world has an interest in making sure that
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they do not develop nuclear weapons. that is why i support the approach that has been used by president obama. that is he takes nothing off the table when he goes in. but he comes in and tries to work with other countries in order to bring pressure, in order, in this case, to put economic sanctions in place. in the case of syria, to provide support that we think is appropriate. i think the president is doing the right thing. he is cautious, he is measured, but he is firm. that is what we need when dealing with that part of the world. i just want to say i am really glad to support president obama as commander in chief, and i do not want to see mitt romney in that job. >> that is time. >> i said on the armed services committee. [applause] homeland, and veterans. i want to make sure our
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soldiers have the tools and resources to do their jobs and do them well and come home. if they are not well, we need to get them in the veterans administration. elizabeth warren wants to cut. we cannot allow iran to have nuclear weapons. i agree with you on that. i have been working to make an effort to destabilize the currency of the central bank in iran. the sanctions we have done are good but we need to have the president implement them. when it comes to syria, assad does need to go. we need to work with moderates in opposition and provide them with military hardware and support financially so they can do battle. the citizens there, they are being slaughtered by the thousands. when it comes to libya, i thought what happened there is unacceptable. i thought the handling of it
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was unacceptable. we need to have a full and immediate investigation to make sure we find out what happened. more importantly, iran, my opponents said earlier we need a nuanced approach. there is no such thing. there is only one person who will stand with israel. >> another 30 seconds. >> i have three older brothers, all of whom served in the military. my oldest brother was career military. he served in vietnam. i have some sense of not only how tough and capable they are. that is why i believe the best we can do for our military is be very careful and thoughtful about when we ask them to go to war. we need to have clear objectives. we need to know what our plan is and how we plan to get out.
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>> you can take up to 40. >> we have the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. our men and women who have served have done a remarkable job. i saw what the soldiers were doing. when duty calls, they are there. i am very proud of that. we need to make sure we provide them with the tools and resources. when they are dealing with what is happening over there, it is troubling. we need to make sure we can work with leaders over there who will give our embassy personnel the right information. i am not sure that was done in libya. >> another question. brac, the base realignment and -- iraq, the base realignment
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and closure process, could call for cuts for many defense related programs in massachusetts. if that happens, where would you stand for cuts to trim the deficit, or to prefer pentagon spending and jobs provided for the economy in massachusetts? >> great question. i am still serving in the national guard. i have been there in that capacity. and as a senator, making sure we can provide a good analysis as to what is going on. the jobs are critical. we have a strong defense industry in massachusetts. we need to make sure we can protect them, as well. it will be a challenge. i worked on the first base closure when i was a state senator. i have been fighting and working now, meeting with the personnel. also, at the air force base. to make sure we provide them. as a ranking member of armed services and having the ability to meet with these people and get the information and battle in a consistent basis for them, i am looking forward to that
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opportunity. as you know, especially, they have a mission where their proficiency is so much better than the active forces, and to think we will put that in jeopardy because a political agenda, i will not do it. we both want to support our military. i would argue that based on my experience, i have the ability to do better. that is not the only challenge when you are talking about stretching the almighty dollars. we earn a financial emergency. we need to take an approach where we can put everything on the table, looking at the top to bottom review. trying to make sure we can do the best with what we have. >> 90 seconds. >> here is the problem. we both want to protect the military. we have a big deficit. when senator brown and other republicans take the grover norquist pledge, and they say they will not raise money for millionaires and billionaires, they will not close the oil subsidies, what they are saying is they are just not serious
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about cutting the deficit, bringing the budget back into alignment. that means we will trigger across-the-board cuts. those cuts for the military is the worst possible way we could go. it is bad for the country. it is that for us here in massachusetts. here is why. it keeps lopping off 10%, 15%. we need to use this opportunity to think about the military we need going forward in the 21st century. here is what i am prepared to do. i am prepared to get out there and fight, to talk about what the c5 galaxy means. this is the place where we have giant planes and take big groups and big equipment and have disaster relief all run the world. that is why there should not be a penny of cuts there. the cuts need to be in places like the standing army. we do not need the same size standing army as we did when we
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were fighting two wars. what we need to do is we need to get serious. put it on the table, including revenues. that is how we get serious. that is how we protect our military. >> that is time. another 30 seconds. >> great sound bites, but when you are talking about a military personnel, i have been doing it for 2.5 years. working with all of our military bases. i have visited there. i know what the missions are. it would be devastating to lose those services in massachusetts. you said you want to cut more military money. you cannot have it both ways. you cannot cut military and protect the c5's. cannot do both. to think we will do it in any other way by taxing and spending against our job creators, it will not happen. >> 37 seconds. >> senator brown just ran on this.
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as long as we do not bring the budget into balance, there will be across the board cuts. that is what will hurt us in massachusetts. that is what will hurt us in our military bases and the investments we make in research and development. we need to get more revenue on the table and get serious about reshaping our military budget. it is no longer about a big standing army. it is about making the investments that we need in the future. cyber security, research and development, and the c5. >> that is all the time we have. we have no time for questions. closing statements. a coin toss determined mr. brown will be first. one minute and 30 seconds. >> thank you. thank you for the folks who are watching. thank you for your support and endorsement, mayor. i want to say, aside from my marriage of 26 years and the birth of my kids come up being
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at your senator is the greatest honor i could ever have. there are many challenges here. after the tornado, i was here. i am continuing to work with the mayor and his team to get reimbursements to fight to make sure we can get springfield and the surrounding areas back on their feet. as somebody who has been working very hard in a truly bipartisan manner to get things done, i am trying to work together to get things done. this is a time where i need your vote. i am asking for your support. this is a critical election. let me further say that when we are talking about taxes and jobs and spending, the first thing out of anybody's mouth who is running in this race, professor warren in particular, is that we need to raise taxes. we need to take your hard- earned money and give it to washington. we cannot. we need to work together in a
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bipartisan manner. i have been doing it. she referenced somebody the other day who she would work with. he goes 80% with his party. i am at 54%. i cannot do this alone. i would appreciate your vote. thank you. [applause] >> please, we are very short on time. one minute and 30 seconds. >> this afternoon, i was driving in the car with bruce. we were driving along the same road and same car became this summer when we drove out to the peak with our granddaughters. we climbed on all sorts of things and drove fast on the mountain. it was a reminder to me of what this race is about. for me, this is about our children and about our grandchildren. there are two very different visions of how we build a future for them. senator brown and the
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republicans believe we do that by cutting taxes for those at the very top and then we let everybody else pick up the pieces. i believe we can do better than that. we must do better than that. i believe everybody pays a fair share. even millionaires, billionaires, and even big oil companies. when everybody pays a fair share, we can all make the investments in the future. we have to invest in education for our children. our public universities, public schools, we have to make those investments to have an educated workforce and a real future. we have to make the investments in infrastructure. we see it in western massachusetts. those investments are what is going to create our future. we have to invest in research. that is what it is about for me. i am asking for your vote so that together we can build a real future for all of our children and grandchildren. [applause] ha

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